It’s easy to ignore foreign atrocities. But to ignore the Saudi-led coalition’s military campaign in Yemen, when our taxpayer money helps fund it, is to be complicit. Years of unrestrained violence, destruction and disease have distressed millions of innocent Yemenis in what U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has declared the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis.”

Until recently, the crisis faced a media and diplomatic blackout. In all of 2017, MSNBC ran only one segment on U.S. support for Saudi-coalition airstrikes. It was corporate neglect of humanity, the failure of a free press to inform citizens their government’s involvement in foreign conflict. But this past August, images of bloodied UNICEF backpacks and broken corpses finally made it onto CNN. A Lockheed Martin-made bomb blew up a school bus, killing 40 school children. Other Geneva Conventions-violating, Saudi-coalition strike targets were finally brought to the public eye, including weddings and funerals — most of which were hit with U.S.-manufactured arms.

Our government has especially turned a blind eye to the slaughter of innocent children with American weapons — as it has done for years. Since 2015, the U.S. has supplied the Saudi military with missiles, aircraft, tanks, arms, logistical guidance, intelligence, aerial refueling and training. Our country is the largest weapons exporter in the world and, unsurprisingly, Riyadh is the world’s largest importer of U.S. weapons. Most recently, President Trump has promised $110 billion in future weapons sales to Saudi Arabia. Sadly, “war is still a racket.”

Given these congressional efforts, the lack of student activism against our country’s role in Yemen is disappointing. As students, we need to protest, pressure policymakers, raise awareness, fundraise and say enough is enough. Now that Congress is heeding Yemen’s cries, we must continue to push for ending U.S. military involvement in Yemen, faithfully promoting peace talks and increasing our government’s humanitarian aid. We must also call for an independent U.N. inquiry to hold Saudi Arabia, ourselves and all other parties accountable for the atrocities committed in Yemen over the past three years.

Americans would be happier today if our taxpayer money went toward public education and domestic infrastructure instead of arming coalitions that bomb school buses and weddings in the poorest country in the Middle East. Government spending should not be bloodstained; speaking out against our country’s role in foreign atrocities is a responsibility for every citizen.

Breaking our silence is the first step. We’re starting a campaign of students to advocate for congressional action and humanitarian efforts to support the people of Yemen. Let’s come together to develop a broader political consciousness and prevent our country from escalating bloodshed abroad. Email us if you’d like to join.

Mehdi Baqri is a sophomore in Saybrook College. Daud Shad is a sophomore in Berkeley College. Contact them at mehdi.baqri@yale.edu and daud.shad@yale.edu .